Random and Sam

Print and design

noreply@blogger.com (Samantha Zinn) — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 17:26:00 +0000

After going through a lot of issues regarding my little design business, I finally set up somewhere, in Society6! I couldn't wander anymore to different e-commerce sites to run this little business of mine. So, I finally set up my brand new business name, S Creative Studio in Society6.

Breaking news. As I have recently changed my business name (this time permanently) to S Creative Studio I had to do a lot of changes around such as removing old links to my old pages and renew them with the actual ones. It took me a long way. But I am glad I know I am safe in Society6.

If you haven't heard about Society6, let me tell you about it. Society6 is a community site where you can upload your unique prints and sell them immediately. Here's how it goes, you upload your print according to the size of your products (laptop skins, iPhone covers, wall art...), later on, Society6 produce them and deliver them infront of your door. Is that easy! Within minutes after posting your art, someone spotted it already!
For every print you make, you get promoted and that's how many professional and talented artists get featured in the homepage (that's a dream for me).

S Creative Studio is a long way to success. But I'll get there, I know that.
Meanwhile, as I'm busy thinking and creating new prints for awesome stuff, you can stop by at my print shop and say hi!
Below are some of my prints available in different products, hope you stop by! (Food, I know...)

Hope to see you around staring at my prints!

October beautiful changes

noreply@blogger.com (Samantha Zinn) — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 19:34:00 +0000

So, I had a long time off my blogging place to think about what to do with my life, I know, again. Here are some things that are going around my life right now and I am doing all the best to handle all:

1. I recently started off my own and little website and graphic design company called GALAXYYY designs. By the end of summer of 2012 I though about getting into the technology and design industry due to the fact I am really passionate about designing and creating new stuff. I began with my own creative and funny greeting cards (check them out here). A couple of weeks after, I thought I wanted to do something more because I just felt like kinda really bored in first place and I also wanted to learn what I love to do: design. So, By the end of September of this year, I started to build up my own website and develop my skills, make my own portfolio of my work I did and I have even started off my own website and graphic design services including amazing tools to power up your website.

I definitely began to love it and here I am, trying out the design industry for a while. You can check my website out here.

2. Fridays are for blogging tips moves out! I won't longer be posting blogging tips on a weekly basis as I am off most of the times and I don't really like leaving by amazing readers with nothing to read! Of course, I will be still posting blogging tips on random days.

3. Halloween is approaching even more! In less than two weeks we'll be shaking our bodies to the beat of the music, dressing up for the day and going around the neighborhood playing trick or treat. Oh yes, and I will be treating myself with lots and lots of sugar and candies!

4. I am working on website designs as well as blog designs for Blogger. Below are the website designs I built. I have done designs for a photography portfolio, a music page, a fashion agency and a model look book.

Check out my website, portfolio and graphic and website design services here.

Have a nice weekend dea readers and I'll be back soon posting about my daily life. Or maybe a full post specially dedicated to my little design company.

PS: Now, people can look me up as a student, blogger and freelance designer.

In love with GALAXYYY designs

noreply@blogger.com (Samantha Zinn) — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 20:30:00 +0000

It's been a while since I stopped posting beautiful posts on this blog... shame on me! But I bring you really good news! I've been busy playing around and falling in love with GALAXYYY designs. To be exact, since the day it was launched. If you haven't heard about GALAXYYY designs, it's time that you know some little facts about it. Here you go:

GALAXYYY designs is a little design business based in Warsaw, Poland. It is run by a 16 year old student (and yes, that's me and don't even bother to comment you're so young). I do things, pretty things I enjoy to do. I do graphic design or at least that's what I'm trying to do, I simply love graphic design! You can check out my website design portfolio here.

This little company started off by the end of summer 2012, when I decided to do something I really loved and turn it into something I could share with other artists who love design. Since I was a kid I loved helping out others with their computer/ programming issues and I was and still am so into it. My mother told me that I was really good at it, especially fast and that when I'd be older I could make something out of it, and sure I did. Not only my mother supported me on this, my lovely boyfriend did and is too. A couple of weeks ago, I had a little insignificant social breakdown. My boyfriend helped me out with my personal issues and supported me on building up what is now, GALAXYYY designs. I am totally in love with it!

One of the reasons I started GALAXYYY designs was because at first I wanted to do something I really enjoyed doing and later on I decided I wanted to share my work with other artists who share the same love for design, in specific graphic design.

In general, I do graphic design. I do websites, Blogger templates and other stuff related to design. I'm so into it that I even get lost in the design world and forget about reading my favorite blogs!

You can check GALAXYYY designs here:
Facebook
Twitter
Blog
Pinterest

The places I stop by and find inspiration are: Tumblr, Pinterest, at home and reading other design blogs/ websites.

I am so proud to own my very first little business and do something I really love to do. I am still learning, from inspiring artists and professional graphic designers. Until now, I have been self-studying myself and it's quite good because you just go on your own pace but it can be sometimes tough if you really want to do big things and need some help.

Hope I someday get to meet some of my favorite professional graphic designers around the world. Oh, and if you would like me to check out your work, just drop your link on the comment box!

A photography moment

noreply@blogger.com (Samantha Zinn) — Mon, 08 Oct 2012 15:45:00 +0000

It's been a while since I last posted something. I've been so busy with school and working on my little business that I ~~couldn't~~ didn't feel like blogging. Sorry readers, if you were expecting some pretty post on blog (I doubt that).

My Facebook feeds have been full of photography + inspiring quotes lately. I like that, a lot. I might have stopped by a few photography pages on my way, and I've been loving all so far! Impressive and talented artists. Here are some of the stunning photography pages I stopped by (all are Polish photographers, you will definitely love them!):

Aleksandra Krzeczowska Photography

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Ida Szewczyk Photography

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Weronika Kazmierczak Photography

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Kinga Jasny Photography

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Paweł Lewandowski Photography

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Filip Preis Photography

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Check them all out! These photographers are so talented!

INSPIRATIONS + AMAZING FINDS (SEPTEMBER)

noreply@blogger.com (Samantha Zinn) — Sun, 30 Sep 2012 17:46:00 +0000

September has been quite a month. First day of school, end of summer sunshine, time to get cozy drinking up hot chocolate... that's what has been happening around this month. And it's time for a change-up: tomorrow's October!

I see leaves falling down already, sunsets show up earlier and morning colds wake me up in the early morning. It's time to say bye bye to September and open ourselves for October, a month that brings us fallen leaves, more crafty times, new inspirations and above all, Halloween.

I have seen a lot of blogs already making a few changes in their blogs and in their lives. I feel like making some changes too. By the end of each month I'll be posting some inspirations and blogs I've been reading throughout the month. I like that.

Oh, and I don't know if you have noticed but, the blog has undergone some changes. Full blog makeover tomorrow night!

INSPIRATIONS + AMAZING FINDS (SEPTEMBER)

- I spent hours and hours reading A Beautiful Mess. I love reading this blog, inspiring for sure!

Their style... is beautiful.

- I stumbled upon this awesome site, especially this post: Creative window seat ideas.

My favorite!

- She's got style! I met Jennifer's blog: Art In Our Blood through another site (don't remember which) and I'm so glad I did. She's pretty amazing, am I right?

- I adore you, STUMBLE UPON. I saw this beautiful typewrite machine while I stumbled upon interesting sites.

Uh, I've been so overloaded with a lot of stuff can't really remember the incredible stuff I've seen this month! If I get to remember I'll post it and tell you to come back. Hope you liked these amazing finds, they are really surprising and interesting, right?

Make the best out of your blog: Part II

noreply@blogger.com (Samantha Zinn) — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 20:26:00 +0000

It's FRIDAY... again! It's been a crazy and weird week. I didn't expect to get sick (and still am) for the past 3 days. A huge pile of homework is awaiting for me to be delivered at school by Monday sharp. Drama begins. I got to notice I've got one long essay for English class due on Thursday, a Psychology test on Wednesday and a Physics re-test on Monday. Yes, here's the part where I run to my bed and hug my comfy pillow... not this time, the second part of "Make the best out of your blog" continues here. Keep reading.

(Just that you know, these are not professional tips, just a little help for bloggers who just opened their first blog. I might get it right, though.)

Tips: sponsor your blog, their blog.

- If you're going to advertise your blog, please do it smartly but mostly make advertising fun. There are many advertising services out there, sure you can make use of them all. I would suggest Passionfruit Ads. It's super easy and very simple to use. Try it out!
- A ~~big~~ horrible mistake I have done was to already set up an advertising page. Do not do that. I was just playing around and of course, I knew anyways I'd get zero sponsors. Therefore I put the page down. Let your blog views grow and flow with time, and after a while you can expand your blog sponsoring and of course, make use of Passionfruit.
- If you want to sponsor your blog or viceversa, there's one thing a blogger looks for: a blog with similar or common interests like yours. If you have a crafty blog find another blog that shares that interest. You have more chances to get sponsored on a blog that has the same interests like you. Keep that on mind.
- Once your blog gets sponsored on a blog, before make sure you didn't move your blog domain to another. You will loose readers, a lot of readers. When people click on your sponsored ad they will not be able to access to your blog. Contact the person you sponsored to change the link through.

Tips: make blogging fun and interesting.

- Blogging it's not defined as typing and sharing thoughts, anymore. Blogging has become a great way to interact with the social world and a totally different way to spend your leisure time.
Connect and socialize. Read other blogs of your interest, who knows you might find out cool stuff you never knew before. Explore different blogs and start reading. It is not boring actually (not for me.)
- Take it easy. Do not speed writing lots of posts in a day. Enjoy writing and do it calmly. It's not like you're writing for someone, right?
- Make your blog go wild with your customizations and make it your own. That is fun!
- Share your ideas/ inspirations. You see something you like and have the need to share it? Do so. Sharing is fun and let's be honest. We are kind.
- Show off. If you have any talent don't be shy and share it with us! We love exploring awesome talents people have nowadays. There are many blogs who write about their talent too. Do a little research and you'll get there.

I have shared with you some of the things I have learned for the past 8 months through blogging, and it's been a long fun way. I enjoy blogging a lot and I hope you do too! I might have get one or two wrong, well practice makes perfection.

Have a lovely weekend! x

How could I have forgotten about "This and That" as one of my blog picks?

noreply@blogger.com (Samantha Zinn) — Thu, 27 Sep 2012 11:05:00 +0000

What I thought, turned out to be what I didn't think it would be. Yesterday night I found out I had an infection inside my tummy, horrible... And that I would be spending the rest of the week, for two days, at home. No school, no nothing. Yet, that couldn't stop me from blogging. I have decided to entertain myself meanwhile my boyfriend and friends sit in lessons for a couple of hours. Not bad though. I am still going to catch up my lessons and study for my Physics test. At the end of the day, I would find myself blogging and playing around in the Internet, either way.

Now that I have more free time for the next 3 days, I am going to work on my going-to-be little shopping website and blog about the things I've been adoring and thinking about lately. Oh, and I forgot to add "This and That" to my blog picks on my previous post, no way.

- This and That. Allie is the pretty girl behind the blog. I love her blog because her posts make me laugh and smile. I like reading about tips, tutorials, crafts and recipes, but I do really enjoy reading about someone's daily life too. It's fun and quite interesting actually. Who knows maybe we even have something in common!

Her blog is really pretty too. It's simple and organized (unlike mine...)., and I like the tones grey, orange and black; the perfect match. This and That is a must-check-out blog. You can check it out here.

Source (from her blog)

Allie: Thanks for supporting me and my blog and for that long message I still remember! I am following your tips and hopefully soon this blog of mine won't be just another blog out there. Hehe. I am learning a lot through blogging. I have experienced (and still am) a new way of socializing and writing down my thoughts. I love reading other people's blogs and what are people's interests. I might have even found someone who has common interests like me. I am so enjoying your blog!

Hope you're having a lovely time there. xo

If you haven't read my previous post: Amazing must-check-out blogs!
If you would like me to read your blog drop me a line at samgonewild96 (at) hotmail (dot) com :)

Amazing must-check-out blogs!

noreply@blogger.com (Samantha Zinn) — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 17:54:00 +0000

I've been reading and going through a lot of blogs recently. I guess reading magazines and newspapers is getting old for me... I rather read blogs! For the past month, here are some of my favorite and inspirational daily reads (you will love like I do):

- Julie Ann Art. Julie's the amazing person behind Julie Ann Art. She's creative and passionate about what she loves doing: super cute and funny greeting cards. You must check them out! I met her blog via another blog who was on the sponsors list. She blogs about her little business, cool tutorials and some tasty must-try recipes. You can check her blog out here and her lovely greeting cards shop here. One of my favorite greeting card is this one:

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- The Wonder Forest. Ahh! Dana is such a talented artist! She's a blogger and graphic designer. I love her style so much; she has a pretty closet. If you haven't check out Dana's blog is a must! Part of Dana's blog doesn't just include tips and daily entries but her great work. You might want to check out her shop as well, if you're into graphic design or need ~~someone~~ a professional to create a beautiful blog for you. All you need is to stop by at her shop and look around. Her work is beautiful, I must say. This is my favorite out of her Blogger template designs:

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- A Beautiful Mess. MY FAVORITE. I adore... A Beautiful Mess (and the girls behind it too)! A Beautiful Mess has become my top inspiring and favorite blog since I met the blog. The blog is so beautiful and creative. They inspire me by their numerous amazing posts they write and their lovely work. And I suggest you to check out the blog too!

A Beautiful Mess is a lifestyle blog full of DIY posts, beautiful pictures, delicious recipes and more incredible stuff. The amazing writers behind the blog are Elsie and Emma. (I have to admit I am little bit jealous, not just by their beautiful blogs, but by the way they have built the blog up. It's amazing, and inspirational.) Elsie and Emma are such an inspiring figures. I admire a lot their work and how much creativity and love they have put in it.

I've been reading their blog for a long time and I have found everything amazing in their blog. I have recently checked out their e-courses and I gotta say they are pretty good. I haven't participated on any e-course but I hope I will soon, they seem to be pretty interesting. Here's my must-do e-courses:

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Here's another e-course I love and must try out:

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I am so glad I found all of your blogs, girls! I love all of your work and I think it's amazing. Whether what you do is handmade greeting cards, graphic design or e-courses (and more), I hopefully will buy one of your products. Oh and I find so interesting your blog posts I have to even check out your blogs so I am sure I'm not missing anything.

Thanks for sharing your passions!

-Your big admirer.

My awesome greeting cards!

noreply@blogger.com (Samantha Zinn) — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 17:40:00 +0000

Finally! Today afternoon I got my pack of printed greeting cards, they are amazing! I've been looking for a ~~good~~ ~~satisfactory~~ professional printer for a long time and that's the reason I have been late on my work... Sorry guys, but finally they are here, check them out!

Which one's your pick? I love both! I gotta go to get back to math and history homework... but don't worry, I'll be around to answer any questions and see your beautiful comments!

Make the best out of your blog: Part I

noreply@blogger.com (Samantha Zinn) — Sun, 23 Sep 2012 18:20:00 +0000

Ah! I know it's Sunday and I should follow the "Fridays are for blogging tips"... but I just felt like having to share these HUGE blogging tips! Either way, more tips mean a better blogging experience right? Anyways, I'll end this weekend with a ~~big~~ huge post just for you, bloggers! I dedicate this Sunday only for you. To learn what's blogging all about and share some tips for a great and fun blogging experience.

As a blogger, I feel obliged to share with you (at any time) some of the best resources and tips to make the best out of your blog. We are in a generation where blogging has not just become a hobby or a personal diary, but something more useful and fun to use. Indeed, it has become a small but real business to some.

If you're a new blogger you might just want to write for yourself and share to the world your deep thoughts and daily routine. Or maybe if you're a crazy blog enthusiast you might be seeking for an audience to post nice comments on one of your DIYs or share their opinion on your posts. But then it comes the active bloggers who combine both: writing for themselves and seeking for an audience. That's me. Trying to balance these two is not that easy as it seems. You might write hundreds of blog posts and don't get a single comment or you have started a great project and it seems to not attract people with the same interest like you.

I have been writing since March of this year and I did experience what any blogger would: writing for myself and getting an audience. It actually worked pretty well but after I started off a new blog on Blogspot things slowed down quite much. If you're asking what blog platform I used before it was Wordpress. Yes I know, it will give you more readers than on Blogspot. That's why I am writing this post, to help you and give you some tips to make the best out of your blog: do's, don't's and others.

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Whether you're a beginner or not in blogging, let me give you some tips and resources you might need to make your blogging experience the best. Honestly, I am not a professional blogger yet and I do not get hundred of readers a month like professional and popular blogs do, but I learned a lot when it comes to blogging and I hope to make it useful for you and your blogging experience.

Tips: attention & audience.

- If you're a beginner do not seek for audience or try to get attention to your blog. Firstly, write some posts and let the audience come to you, not you to them.

- You do not have to write about recipes, tips, DIYs and related to get an audience. Remember, not all bloggers look for tips, some even read other's life experiences, personal stories and your traveling journals too! Writing about and sharing your daily routine and some experiences is not always boring. People are curious too and sometimes they feel like reading people's experiences to know they are not the only ones who experienced the same.

- If you wish to attract more readers to your blog, do it efficiently. Find the best and popular resources on the web to share your blog. Twitter, Google Circles and MySpace are great. Many people us Facebook to share their blog (specially on comments). Try not to post your comment somewhere public along with your blog link such as on photos because it might be considered as spam and the administrators would delete your comment. Besides, people don't really look at them (too much). There's a little chance to get more readers by spamming.

- If you're writing about a certain topic such as travel, recipes or photography, look up other blogs that share the same interest. Read, comment and start a blogger-to-blogger talk. Who knows? That person might check out your blog even.

- Don't get overexcited about wanting to attract people to your blog. Don't build your hopes up aiming for it. Write for yourself and if someone likes what you write keep it up and don't think about writing for the audience. Trying to get readers is not easy either and they might not have the same interest you do.

- Go social! If you want to make your blog to the public, set up a Facebook fan page to keep your readers up to date or simply share it! If you want more, add some (not too much) social gadgets on your blog and keep them coming back for more. Facebook and Twitter are always the best to attract readers

- A great way to stay in touch with your favorite bloggers and blogs is to sponsor them. Make a space on your layout for those ads you want to place. They will think "What an awesome blog!" and want you to sponsor them. Bonus: your readers will come to you if you even feature them on a post!

Tips: customize your blog.

- All of us love to customize and make our blogs look pretty, who doesn't? Personalizing your blog might be quite challenging too. Where should I place this gadget? Will people see it? Is it too messy or to much widgets over my blog? There are a lot of questions to be concerned about (but not getting worried about) when organizing your gadgets. If you have some patience the result will be a beautiful and organized blog.

- Watch out! Many people do this huge mistake: adding HTML code to a blog. I suggest you to not do that unless you're a professional or really know how to. Otherwise your blog might get really messy... If you want to do so, ask for help or download the original template so you will be able to restore your blog's original form later.

- Your blog is yours. Thanks to Blogspot's flexibility now you're able to make all the changes you want. From choosing your own fonts and colors to changing your blog's width. And it's all for FREE. Try to customize your blog according to your style and showing what's your blog about. Make it your own!

- Add all the gadgets you want. But keep on mind, you will want people to see them and be clear. Organize your gadgets according to what people would like and click on. Make some space too, you won't want a messy blog with your gadgets altogether; it would be quite confusing.

- When choosing over a variety of fonts and colors. I suggest not to choose a different font for each content, it will make your blog confusing and not organized at all. Opt for a font that fits to your theme. About the colors, make yourself your own set of colors to match your blog.

- Do not overload your blog with a bunch of useless gadgets, it doesn't look nice and will look plain messy. If you need to opt for a two column blog for more space.

- I have seen a lot of beautiful blogs that have customized social icons, headers and even the sidebar titles and menu. That's a fantastic idea. Be creative and make your own gadgets. You can use paint, Photoshop or any other service. Make you creativity stand out!

It's a long way to make your blog stand out, but don't worry this is jsut the beginning! There's more in part 2. Hope these tips were helpful to you and that you will read the second part!

Show off your posts (simple & organized)

noreply@blogger.com (Samantha Zinn) — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 21:30:00 +0000

For those bloggers who have been writing on their blog for more than a year or have written a lot of posts, you won't want your old posts to be kept just in the archive doing nothing right? For that reason I am going to show you how to show off your older posts in a simple and organized way.

1. Go to LinkWithin. You will create a customized widget for your old and related posts (to relate a post to another just label each with a common word such as tips or travel etc.). Type down your email, blog link, platform and choose the number of stories you want to display. The related stories will be displayed under each post.

2. Install your widget by clicking on "Install widget" box. A small window will pop out and choose the blog you want to install it.

3. Drag the "LinkWithin" box from the sidebar and place it under the "Blog posts" gadget, and you're done!

This one I customized it with my needs for my blog. Don't let your old posts be kept away from your readers in a huge pile in the archive, let them shine!

Free giveaway: Roman style inspired bracelets

noreply@blogger.com (Samantha Zinn) — Thu, 20 Sep 2012 23:09:00 +0000

Get 4 Roman style inspired bracelets and add them to your fall outfit collection! Enter here:

a Rafflecopter giveaway
* This giveaway is only available within Warsaw, Poland. Only for students studying at the International American School of Warsaw. Thank you.

The "Show and Tell" Project.

noreply@blogger.com (Samantha Zinn) — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 20:24:00 +0000

Today I had a fun, but yet incredible talk with a friend of mine going to the same high school as I. Her name is Maria, and although she's attending one more grade up, I had a great opportunity to really get to know her and... maybe even becoming friends!

I got ~~some~~ 3 great tips from Maria about graphics design and related (these tips also go for all other careers):

1. Build a little portfolio with all your designs to showcase along with your CV.

2. When choosing a country to study at, look at the countries that have more universities within graphics design.

3. Try out your designs and get some feedback (it helps to build up your little business).

4. Hm... I can't really remember it, sadly.

I know there were a ~~little bit~~ lot more tips she gave me.... Sorry my brain is a bit feeble right now and I can't recall everything, not even getting to the best details!

Anyways, as I was saying, Maria and I had these little talk and I came up this ~~big~~ HUGE idea (and later a project) I could build as a little career* experience. I previously talked to her about my studies and we might have gone further from the point... to talking about business (for me felt like such)!

The "Show and Tell" Project

OK, my project is not based on that little game in which you had to draw something and they had to tell you about it or way round or anything related (am I getting confused) , not at all. There's no definition to the "Show and Tell" project except mine: showcasing my designs to a specific audience and get some feedback. Here are outlines about this project:

- "Show and Tell" is my own project which is aimed to get some feedback only.

- To accomplish this project, I will work with 4 people on different subjects. Friends, bloggers, you are all welcome to join me)!

- There will be a maximum period of 2 weeks for each work. Total: 8 weeks.

- Each participant shall submit some feedback (it's part of "Show and Tell").

- The subject of "Show and Tell" is graphic design, mainly WEBSITE DESIGN.

- The participant has only to give out a theme for me to work on a website template.

If you're interested on joining me on this big project, please contact me at samgonewild96 (at) hotmail (dot) com.

Terms and conditions:

- Each client shall not copy, distribute or use my work for any profit.

- You must be +14 to join.

- You may share our work once done as long as you redirect it back to me (attribution).

- If you're not feeling sure about keeping up with this project, you may resign and leave at any time.

Rules:

1. A new participant will work with me in this project every two weeks.

2. The participant will choose a theme for a website design I will have to design by myself.

3. I will be given a maximum period of two weeks to complete the your website design of your choice.

4. Once it is done, you will provide some feedback to the work I've done (mostly to improve my designing skills and to expand my creativity).

Wow, wait a sec, 4 projects in 8 weeks?! Yes you've got that. I have to start setting up life goals I need to accomplish. One of them includes this wonderful and exciting project.

*my own definition of career: doing something you love so badly for a living and not just for the money.

Here are some reasons to join me:

1. You will get recognized! Once you have worked with me I will share my work along with your idea!

2. If you're a blogger, it would be fun co-working and becoming even friends, what do you think about that?

3. It would help me to develop new ideas and improve my designing skills based on your feedback.
4. Join me for free, but bring some ideas and maybe some.... -virtual- chocolate?

5. Bored? Just join me!

Your ideas count. Get me inspired!

-ing.

noreply@blogger.com (Samantha Zinn) — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 17:36:00 +0000

It's Monday... again. Today I started my week off by going shopping to get some of my stuff I'll need to work with. I got some really nice things you could find in a mall centre. I finished school around 14:20 and I thought about shopping some of the stuff I'd need for my work so this is what I've bought (mostly for my handmade greeting cards and school needs as well):

After shopping what I needed I got back home and I ate. Later on I began thinking, working and doing a lot of -ings (studying, singing, drinking...).

I thought about starting off printing some of my digital greeting cards. Ups! There's no ink as it seems... I checked my color levels and it indicated me they were all full, but I still got those ugly and colorless stripes on my cards. Print is my number one must-do, I really need to catch up and print some, take some shots and upload them to my going-to-be online shop design. I'm kinda late I guess. But no worries, these greeting cards of mine are going to get printed out! I've got an Epson printer at home althoough I'm thinking about printing my stuff out at some media printing place to get things done faster; time's going away....'

If you would like to check out some of my sneek peeks to my designs click here (most of them are website designs). Comments and messages? I'm always open about either!

What about blogging? Yes, I am still blogging just when I can. I kind of should balance my studies, work and free time, right? Everything will get sort out, by now I'm still... -ing.

Blogger or Wordpress?

noreply@blogger.com (Samantha Zinn) — Sat, 15 Sep 2012 21:05:00 +0000

Via

If you're going to start your own blog or site on any of these blogging platforms, Blogger or Wordpress, you might need to think about it twice. Both blogging platforms are great and you will have a professional and best quality experience; it's a hard pick. I have experienced writing and blogging in both Blogger and Wordpress platforms, so I'm here to tell you some of the facts, cons and pros about these two to get most out of your pick.

BLOGGER

Blogger is one of the best blogging platforms you could ever have. Change any blog template and make it your own, customize your menu, fonts, add widgets and more. Blogger is simple, organised and a clean platform which will allow you to expand your ideas and share them to the world.

It's not just about writing, but showcasing your best shots or maybe even building up an ideal business. Blogspot is not for writers, but for everyone.

Let's get to the facts:

Pros

• Blogger is one of the most recognised blogging platforms that exist.

• Google is linked to Blogger which means you don't have to register your blog with another email platform (just with Gmail). See your emails and blog posts at the same time.

• Google + is a bonus! You get to share (manually or automatically) your best posts with Google +.

• Get your own domain for only $18 a month.

• A large variety of gadgets to pick. There are many gadgets Blogger offers you and other services to make your blog more recognisable.

• How big you want your blog, a 1 column, 2 column or 3 column blog? It's up to you! With the customization option you can choose the number of columns you want and the width for better reading and exposure of your gadgets.

• It has 100% flexibility. Add lots of gadgets, post whatever you want and how you want in different formats and customize your blog template to make it your own (change fonts, the blog's size...). No coding required (only if you need to). Blogger wanted you to make your blogging experience better and stylish; FREE use of HTML and customizing!

Cons

• Blogger's template designs are not so professional as much as Wordpress templates are (poor design).

• Stats are not accurate. You might get 100 views in a day, but it doesn't mean people actually viewed your blog. There's this trick some of you might not have noticed: refresh your blog or any blog based on Blogger and you will see that the times you refresh a blog is proportional to the number of views.

• Blogger might be linked to Google + and other Google services, but it is less probably to get a lot of views within a month than in Wordpress.

WORDPRESS

What a professional you are, Wordpress. Based on my 5 month experience (and that's more than enough) on Wordpress, there is only one word behind that describes my thoughts towards this amazing platform: professionalism. Yes, this is one of the things you might describe Wordpress after checking out this amazing platform. It has incredible tools and great services and template designs that will make you say yes. If you're seeking a professional blog design or simply want to build a little business in minutes this is your place: Wordpress.

Pros

• Amazing, organised and professional template designs in your hands. Each template has it's own theme and would perfectly match to your needs. Many might be paid templates but let me tell you, it's worth it! Plus if you're opting for HTML or further customizations it's a bonus!

• Stats. Your blog's stats will always keep you update with the number of views on your blog and will make you blog even more. Make your readers happy, make yourself happy with Wordpress stats.

• Wordpress' main page is so clean and organised. You can check its features and

• Over 206 beautiful and well presented blog templates.

• You can get featured in Wordpress where a million of readers check everyday.

• Your traffic will peek within a month!
• In Wordpress posts go rapidly across the other www world which means your blog might get popular from day to night!

Cons

• Flexibility... 30%. Wordpress might be the best on template designs but it wouldn't give you a lot of flexibility on customizing your blog, unless you pay.

• There's a limited amount of widgets, the basic ones.

• To register a new blog you have to create an account (unlike Blogger you use Gmail which is linked to it and you won't have to register with another email).

If you're asking yourself or not, why I picked Blogger is simply because of the flexibility Blogger gives me without paying a dollar (yet, unless I'd want to get my own domain). Although I do sometimes miss my previous blog with that super cool template, why lie?

Here you have my facts about Blogger and Wordpress. Read these facts and then good luck on choosing!
If there are more pros and cons you want to add, you're welcome.

Customized menu

noreply@blogger.com (Samantha Zinn) — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 19:16:00 +0000

Yey! Today I have decided to blog about different stuff everyday (hopefully, when I won't be busy studying for tests or even falling asleep). I guess my blog was becoming a public personal diary and I just didn't feel like writing more crappy boring stories of my daily routine anymore. So, today's Friday and I will begin with a little blogging tip you might need if you're blogging (or not). I'm going to show you how to customize your own blog menu. I've seen many bloggers sharing this little secret and I thought, why not? Let's get friendly over here! Of course, I have learned from the best bloggers out there and now it's my turn. So, here I go...

If you're new in this or just don't know how to get your personalized blog menu, first of all you will need to create your own menu buttons in any design software such as Paint, Pixlr or Photoshop. Open a new document and start putting down your creation on those buttons. It is important to get button sizes that will fit on your blog. For mine, I used font 10 pts and fits perfectly in the button. But you can choose the button's size depending of how big is your blog. When you're done crop each button with the same width and height for each one and save them separately as PNG format (remove the background or just open the document with a transparent background).

Once you have created your buttons you have to upload each PNG file to a photo service such as Photobucket. After, open your blog's main menu and go to "Layout". Above the header click "Add a gadget", scroll down and choose "HTML/ JavaScript".

Copy the HTML code of any of your buttons and paste it to the HTML window, one after another. Reapeat this process until you have copied and pasted all your buttons. Paste the HTML after the last HTML code.

Now, here's the hardest and second longest part: linking each button to a page. On the same HTML page click on "Rich text" button next to the "quote" icon and the rest. If you want your buttons to be in the center of your blog, just go back to "Edit HTML" and write <center> (beginning) and </center> (at the end). Finally, click "Ok" and you're done!

There you go, a beautiful customized menu!

I'm not sure if this is the shortest or longest way (probably longest...) but I did it in my way. I hope you've liked this blogging tip and that you will subscribe to my mailing list for more!

Back to my blogging life for today

noreply@blogger.com (Samantha Zinn) — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 17:25:00 +0000

Oh my, yesterday I got my very first comment on my blog and it totally made the rest of my day. Thanks to Brittany Hendler (and her beautiful blog by the way) my blog was living. Since I left my previous blog I did not get a single comment and it was exciting that I did after a month and something days of writing on my blog. It was the time.

After I came back from school, I ate lunch and I began to enter my blogging life again. Today I have stopped by a beautiful blog and I met an amazing handmade greeting cards shop.

I needed this, coming back to my blogging life. So I stopped by Julie Ann Art and her amazing shop. She's incredibly talented and such an artist for inspiration, I love it! I checked out her blog and I just had no words to say how beautiful and inspirational blog she writes on, I could spend a LOT of time reading, scrolling down, reading, but I just don't have that much time to do so (unless on weekends) so I just read some posts of hers. I checked out her shop as well and I wish I'd be that talented like her! She designs such beautiful and funny greeting cards that they make me want to shout out loud I WANT THEM non stop.

I got some inspiration from Julie Ann Art and I hope I will get better on my designs, there's a lot to do... By now I'm getting inspired by blogs I find out and enjoying what I read.

I hope to get back to my blogging life soon as I survive my high school days!

Excited about C.L.D.!

noreply@blogger.com (Samantha Zinn) — Sun, 09 Sep 2012 14:08:00 +0000

With the stress about my I.B. Programme, busy weekends and working on my site and others I haven't written for a very long time. Sorry guys!

But I bring you really cool and exciting news: I am working on my design shop called Create, love and Design, and I'm doing other work too so soon I will open a design shop (hopefully by the end of this month/ in beginning of October). All by msyelf.

Logo designed by Create, Love and Design.

You will find designs for your business or brand, blogs and sites, home decor and entertainment. These include:

- Buisiness cards.

- Cards.

- Logos.

- Pre-made Blogger templates.

- Social network icons.

- Photoshop actions.

- Wall prints.

Most of these items are a digital download for now, but once things will be balanced, the items will be ready to ship to any country. This work is something I've been working recently and by now everything seems to go well. Although I am not a professional designer yet, I'm looking forward to improve my skills and get to the top. But hopefully I will learn from the best.

Remember, sign up to the blog's mailing list to get the latest posts and news!

Besides blogging (not going to just drop it... again) you can find me studying or working on new and beautiful designs for you. So you know where to find me if you have any questions or want just to drop a message!

P.S.: If you know any professional designer you think I might like and learn some stuff related to graphics design or Photoshop, please contact me.

Tough days (now-end of school year)

noreply@blogger.com (Samantha Zinn) — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 11:21:00 +0000

I know, I haven't written for about 4 days but I really got a lot of stuff to do. At home and at school. Since school started (yesterday) I haven't had time to write on my beautiful blog. I've been packing and getting ready for back to school, buying food for home and was busy with thousand of other stuff. But I promise you to get back to this blog as soon as I can.

Yesterday our homeroom teacher gave us our new 2012/2013 schedule and I was about to literally faint... What a horrible schedule plan we had! This is my junior year and as I took the I.B. programme it's going to be tough! Study, eat and sleep. Period. Those days sleeping until late and doing what I wanted (including being lazy) are over. I will be back to my daily routine; wake up at 6 AM and who knows until what time I will be awake doing stuff. I hope this school year things will go well and I'll have to study hard to keep those Bs to As!

As I survive my high school years I will be writing when I get free time and share with you school moments and stuff going around. So don't take your eyes off my blog because I will be posting a lot of interesting stuff, hopefully interested enough to entertain you.

What about you, still in high school or not? Good luck if so!

Blogging, designing and fantasizing

noreply@blogger.com (Samantha Zinn) — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 21:49:00 +0000

I've been writing on this blog for a short time, although I have already wrote 13th posts (this one included) and things have been going around pretty well. I haven't received any comments although my stats have rapidly increased (I wonder who reads my blog...). My previous blog got a lot of comments and likes hmm... how come? I hope things will go beyond my expectations, hopefully.

For the last days I've been designing some stuff to expand my creativity, that includes greeting cards, wall prints, social icons and more. Today I began with a new project to see how my designing goes and if I will adore what I have been doing lately. As part of designing I worked out on this project of mine: blog templates. What about that? This kind of project is really huge and it takes longer to work on. I began today morning and I'm so excited to see how it looks! Soon I'll showcase my first new blog template.

Ahh! Daydreaming about myself in the designing world... (before it slightly ends in 3 days)

(Love) Fuzzimo!

noreply@blogger.com (Samantha Zinn) — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 21:52:00 +0000

About three days ago, I checked out a very cool site where you could find a lot of designs, mostly for Photoshop to enjoy and play around for free (under some terms). The designer behind Fuzzimo is Antoniu, a great artist. I went through all his designs and let me tell you, they were pretty awesome. He has a lot of talent as shown. So I found out a design I loved: Blank Polaroid frames. I downloaded the file and I began to play around with the Polaroid frames and replacing the blank with my own photo. Here's one I did using this frame:

Check out his site here. You will love it and all of his designs!

Thanks Fuzzimo!

10 Things girls love about boys

noreply@blogger.com (Samantha Zinn) — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 13:53:00 +0000

Whether you're in a relationship or not, there are some few things you might want to know about girls (if you're a boy) and if you already know this might be a small recap. I'm going to share some of the things girls love about boys. I'm pointing this post to all girls and boys. There are still amazing boys out there (including my taken boyfriend), they do exist still. Please, don't even bother to ask me why I'm writing a post about this... (laughs)

Credit.

1. They pay attention when we talk to them. Okay, I might get this one sometimes wrong but we adore when you pay attention to our conversations even if we are saying stuff you don't want to hear. Why? Because you don't make us feel boring.

2. Talking to his girl over playing computer games. This is the thing, although it's okay for boys to play computer games, we prefer when they talk to or take some time off to be with us. It's nice to know boys can leave their computer games just for 5 minutes at least, without grumbling.

3. Take you to fancy restaurants. Who doesn't love to go on a date to a fancy restaurant? I do! I remember my boyfriend taking me to Hard Rock Cafe, it was a perfect date and the food was delicious. A perfect date doesn't always have to be in fancy restaurants but remember, when your boy takes you to a fancy restaurant is a sign of chivarly, besides it's romantic too.

4. When they take you for long walks in the park. Oh yes, that's the most romantic place you can take your girl for a date. Night dates are great because you get to see the shining stars and the moon at night. If you're going to go for a romantic getaway or picnic you will enjoy date nights a lot and get some privacy.

5. Adorable and cute faces. When a boy behaves cute it doesn't mean his childish or immature at all. In fact when they behave in a cute way with their girls they make them go crazier! There's a big difference between hot and cute: a cute face will always make girls smile than a hot body. Showing your hot side is great and will catch a million of girls' eye, but your cute side will make them fall for you.

6. When they give you teddy bears and their cuddle toys. Aww, that's so sweet! When a boy does that it makes him more affectionate. Your boy's cuddle toys are the best gift you could get. They gave them to you to think about him. Don't even think to make any dirty thing on them, they are a special gift.

7. They kiss extremely well. Whether is a kiss on the neck or front kisses are a cute way to express the love. We love it when boys start kissing us first and kiss back. French kisses are the most passionate and romantic kisses you can get and receive. Isn't kissing a beautiful experience?

8. Surprise you with cute gifts or taking you to beautiful places. Small cute gifts are a romantic way saying "I love you". They are packed full of love and happines and although they might come in small packages it's worth opening them, so appreciate what you have!

9. Show their love. We love when boys show their love. A boy can show their love in a million of ways, he just has to make his girl the one and only by showing that he's in love with her. A girl needs to feel special so keep that in mind.

10. Say "I love you". This is the best thing you can ever say to a girl. You will make her the happiest girl in the world. Saying "I love you" shows all the above things you do for her and that you're the one and only. It doesn't have to be in the perfect time or moment, just say it and she will be glad to hear that. Love means a lot so mean it!

Girls, do you agree? Boys, what do you do to make a girl fall in love with you?
What are other things girls love about boys?

I heart... Urbanears!

noreply@blogger.com (Samantha Zinn) — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 20:02:00 +0000

If you're a music lover you're going to want the best devices and headphones in the store I guess. As a music lover, I got to feel real music through my brand new grape Plattan Urbanears I bought today. I've been waiting for them for so long! It was since this day I was checking out Urban Outiffiters' site and I jumped to the electronics section. There I found them, right in the first row of the catalogue. I had no idea how to get them around Warsaw so with a little of luck I could get them somewhere before they run out.

A few hours ago I got to buy the last Urbanears at Empik in the centre of Warsaw and I am so happy about it! When I got home I ran to my room and unpacked the headphones and it was really hard to (honestly I didn't even know how to unpack them). The headphones' pack included another earphone socket for older phones, the Urbanears warranty sheet, a cool sticker and the amazing and colorful headphones catalogue. Beautiful.

Urbanears catalogue.

I'll be playing around with my headphones' crisp sounds they produce...

Do you have any Urbanears headphones? Share it with us!

DIY stylish and colorful memo board

noreply@blogger.com (Samantha Zinn) — Mon, 27 Aug 2012 20:47:00 +0000

I'm afraid I might become a DIY and blogger housewife in the future. I've been looking around at my favorite blogs and sites such as All Women Stalk, and let me tell you, it is going to be a crazy yet fun ride making your own DIY crafts.

When I was younger I did a lot of crafts at school, sticking, cutting out, drawing and painting... and it was fun. But with years the experience gets better and more fun. Making your own DIY can be quite challenging and competitive sometimes when you think about whether someone already has done it or if people will want you to see more of your DIY (which in this case I just have this one I will show you today). But you don't have to worry about anything because as long as you credit that person with your DIY craft you won't have to deal with any problem.

This morning I got an email from a site I subscribe to and there was a word that caught my attention: DIY. This email came from All Women Stalk and a brief summary of new posts on the site. I clicked on the post "10 DIY Memo Boards To Make" and it opened my web browser (Google Chrome) and redirected me to the post. I went through all the 10 DIYs and all of them were just amazing and beautiful. I could do all of them if I had all the free time in the world! So I looked just in front of me above my laptop and I saw my simple and boring memo board so I thought about making my memo board a makeover.

You will need

- A memo board. (I got my simple memo board here in Poland. You can find some if you live around here or the best place is at Empik).

- Recyclable papers. (I used old school papers from my French and English classes).

- Cup of any size.

- 1/3 of water.

- 2/3 of liquid glue. (The quantity of water and glue depends on how will you need to cover all your board's borders, but the proportions are the ones I wrote).

- Painting color palette and a brush.

- A background cover for your board (I chose Vans from my shoe wrapper, but you can chose any cover for the background).

If you're going to make this kind of makeover for your board these are the steps I followed:

1. First cover the background of your board. You can either cut what's left or stick it to the board borders with glue (I stuck it to the borders for less difficulty when cutting out).

2. Once you glued the borders with the cover's leftovers (or not), start cutting out little pieces of old papers you don't need.

3. When you have the pile of pieces, mix 1/2 of water and 2/3 of glue in a cup of your pick. Mix it until you get a smooth result.

4. Take a brush and pass the glue over the piece of paper so you will be able to paste the paper on the board easily. It doesn't matter if the pieces go behind the board. We are focusing just on the main borders (you can cover everything up if you prefer). Follow this order until you covered up all the borders.

5. Let it dry for about 3.5h.

6. We are done with all the sticky and messy part. Now we are going to do the fun and colorful part. Grab a color palette and clean the brush full of glue (or get another brush) and paint the borders with the colors of your pick. I chose my favorite colors, dark blue and pink.

7. Let the paint dry for 3h (depending on the type of paint you're using. I used watercolor paints so it took my board longer to dry, although I used more paint).

7. Finally, decorate your board as you like. Adding pins, putting up your memories or a to-do/ shopping list and that horrible school timetable you will have to get ready for. If you don't want those pieces standing out on your background cover them up with some laces of your pick and start covering them up so you won't have to see them anymore anymore. (I left them stand out because it looks more colorful and artistic, or at least I try to make it look like that.)

AND YOU'RE DONE!

I know, it's quite empty but I will fill my board with more photos and cool stuff later.

What about a stylish and colorful memo board for back to school? Although it takes time for this memo board makeover you can make your own makeovers to your board. Start studying with style or cross things off from your to-do list before school year ends!

Inspiration taken from: All Women Stalk: Lifestyle.

Student, blogger, next... designer?

noreply@blogger.com (Samantha Zinn) — Sat, 25 Aug 2012 22:19:00 +0000

I've been asking myself for a long time whether what I'm doing is normal (in the sense of usual) for a 16-year-old teenager to have and write a blog, read advices/ tips in the Internet and already have a mind focused for designing? I sometimes confuse the word normal for weird, different, crazy on my bad moments, but the question is, is it normal for me to do all this?

If there's something I learned from my mother's life advices is to always write down a list of goals and be mind focused on things I want to do/ get in life. Besides being a student I am proud to say I'm a blogger too. It all started two and a half years ago, during my first months of English lessons with my great English teacher. I kind of started to like the subject. And although at my school in Spain I didn't learn so advanced English it was pretty hard for me when I came to my new school. English has always been my favorite subject since (even when I am not that good at it!).

Recently, my mother's advices have been in my head and I just couldn't take them out. So after starting this blog, I wanted more. Not just writing all the time but something that could expand my creativity and interact more with the world outside: design (it is actually something to do related to creativity.)

I have decided to design business cards (no professional business cards). Inspired by my style and anything that goes on my mind. I am not qualified as a professional designer, but I am designing on my own and as another hobby (for now). As you might see my business card above is not that professional as it's quiet simple and colorful. I will post my business card showcase soon and hopefully I get good marks.

I remember my mom telling me "You should be a computer fixer and instructor, you manage very well with computers and you're speedy." (Laughs). I am never going to become such! I might not become some computer nerd or instructor but I will be doing something in between, just related to technology and designing. I'm a student now so this is all I am working on besides keeping up with my blog.

"You never know unless you try."

Ahh I love that quote! I always think positive or try to when I am writing to improve my skills or designing to take my creativity out of me. That's right. I have to always think about that quote when I do what I love to never give up.

I hope you liked my own business card above and that you will subscribe to my mailing list for upcoming posts and news!